The one with the familiar feelings
by Lynsco13
Summary: Rachel just went on her first date since finding out she was pregnant and it doesn't go well. What happens when she ends the night with someone unexpected. (I suck at summaries lol) **Season 8 A/U Ross/Rachel. Some Monica/Chandler Rated T for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Rachel stood next to a street vendor buying candy bars after probably one of the most awkward dates she has been on. The date was going well until she had accidentally let it slip that she was expecting. Something that was making her kick herself. She was too much into her head to notice that Ross had showed up by her side.

"Hello." Ross said to her. He was shocked to see her alone when he walked up. Last he knew, she was on a date with one of Joey's co-stars. He still wasn't all that sure how he felt about that. She was, in fact, carrying his child.

"Hi." Rachel said back.

"How uh, how was the date?" Ross asked genuinely curious about it.

"Well, I am alone and I just bought fifteen dollars' worth in candy bars. What do you think?" She responded with a slight smile indicting that she can laugh at the entire situation.

"Oh. What happened?" Ross may not have wanted Rachel to date while pregnant but he couldn't stand seeing her upset. Something that always pulled at his heart with Rachel.

Rachel slapped the bag of candy bars and started to walk away.

"Made the mistake of telling him that I was pregnant." Rachel answered honestly.

"He didn't uh, take it so well?"

"Well, better than you." Rachel said smiling. "But ya know, still not what you want."

"Oh?"

"Yeah he got all weird and sputtery and then he said uh, 'yeah I hear those hemorrhoids are a bitch'" Rachel told him in the best impression of her date as she could muster. She and Ross both laughed at the situation as the both sat down on a nearby staircase.

"He sounds swell." Ross said sarcastically.

"Doesn't he?"

"Hey. Want uh, want some cheering up?" Ross asked, nudging her.

"Yes." She nearly begged him.

Ross figured the next thing to come out of his mouth is something he as well had just found out. "Guess whose middle name is 'Muriel'?" Rachel sat there and thought for a minute. Going through everyone she could possibly know with the first letter of their middle name 'M'. Then it hit her.

"Chandler M. Bing." She said out loud.

Ross plastered a big smile and nodded, "Yeah huh." Rachel laughed at that. Ross could make her laugh probably the easiest out of everyone. She wasn't sure why he had that hold on her. The hold that made her enjoy just the small amount of time she was having with him after her terrible date. They have reached a part in their relationship that seemed familiar. Almost safe. She was having his child but it was like nothing had changed. He was still this very adorable geek that could make her smile just by looking at her.

"Sorry about your date." Ross told her.

"Oh that's alright. Guess I am just done with the whole dating thing." Rachel said. "Just one more thing in my life that suddenly completely different." Rachel rested her elbow on her knee and placed her chin in the palm of hand as she came to that realization. "This is hard."

Ross looked her. Admired her natural beauty. The one thing he has noticed about her that is different than any other past relationship he's had. She was real. Honest. Blunt even. She was beautiful to him. Sure, it wasn't how he saw his life turning out in terms of Rachel. Having a child without being married or even so much as in romantic relationship but he was happy no matter what. Happy with being her friend even if deep down he still wanted to be more. "Yeah I know. But I mean on the other hand, in about seven months you're gonna have something that you're gonna love more than any guy you have ever gone out with."

Ross and Rachel smiled at each other and stayed quiet for minute after that. Ross then continued, "Just wait. Wait until, uh, wait until your baby first grabs on to your finger. You have no idea."

Rachel couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips as his words hit her. "Thanks sweetie." She rubbed his knee and continued to look at him with this happy feeling in her heart. Something she hasn't felt for him in a while. Something that she for sure was still there but she kept hidden. Especially from him. He wasn't sure what it was but he knew he didn't want to stop talking with her. But he also didn't want to continue this on the streets of New York, so he looked at her and asked, "Wanna grab some coffee?"

"Oh no. I think I am gonna go home and eat ten candy bars." Rachel said smiling.

Ross laughed but with a shocked face asked, "Hey well, I thought I cheered you up?"

"Oh you did. There are twenty in here." Rachel said lifting the bag.

"Alright." Ross said with a small frown which Rachel noticed.

"Goodnight." Ross leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek feeling slightly hurt by her rejection but also completely understanding. He turned away and started to walk towards Central Perk. Rachel watched as he walked away. The same smirk that she had earlier when thinking of him crept back on her face again. 'Oh. What the hell?' she thought. And started to follow Ross. He hadn't made it that far so she jogged to catch up.

"Ross?" Rachel said loudly. He turned around as he reached for the double doors to Central Perk and couldn't help but smile.

When she caught up to him, slightly out of breath. "You know what, having a drink with you would be wonderful." Ross opened the door for her and as she went in, he took her hand and lead them both to the counter ordering a drink for each. Since Rachel couldn't have coffee due to pregnancy, he ordered her a glass of tea and a cup of coffee for himself.

Ross and Rachel sat down at their regular spot on the orange couch in the middle of shop and talked for what seemed to be forever. It felt so normal for them. They talked and laughed about horrible dates and just enjoyed each other's company. Gunther, the manager of Central Perk, who had a huge crush on Rachel came over and informed them that the shop was closing soon.

Rachel looked up and then down at her watch. "Jesus, is it really midnight?" She laughed as she looked at Ross. They had gotten there around nine thirty so they had talked for two in half hours. They haven't spoken to each other like this since they were together. It felt nice.

"I guess so." Ross got up and leant his hand out for her to take which she took gratefully. "Let me take you home." Ross offered.

"Sure." She smiled and they both left, grabbing their coats, Rachel grabbed her bag of candy and they walked up to her apartment that she shared with Joey which was next door to the coffee shop, hand in hand. Something neither of them really noticed, just seemed natural. Rachel turned slightly to face Ross with the biggest smile she's had on her face since the night started with the Soap star.

"Thank you Ross for making my night better." Rachel said squeezing his hand.

"It's no problem. I'd rather see you happy than miserable and If I can help with that, I am your guy." Ross responded squeezing her hand back. Rachel stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back, she just stared at him and noticed that he was staring back at her with an equal amount of intensity. Neither one knew who leaned in first and neither one cared but the next thing they knew their lips touched in a passionate kiss. Rachel had dropped the bag of candy and gently wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him closer to her. He placed his hands on her waist to close the remaining gap between them that she hadn't closed yet. The kiss was getting heated as Ross gently pushed her up against the wall and kissed her harder. She moaned quietly in his mouth and then breathed out as he went from her lips to her cheek down to her neck, sucking on the spot only he knew drove her crazy.

"Chandler, come on. She was hot." Rachel and Ross jumped at the sound of Joey's voice a floor below that echoed through the staircase near them. Ross quickly stood next to Monica's door as if he was about to knock and Rachel turned around to seem as if she was trying to unlock the door.

Monica looked over at Joey as they reached their floor with a disbelief look on her face as she responded to Joey's statement to Chandler, "Hi. I am his wife and I was standing right there." Joey just shrugged.

"Hey Rach. Ross. What are you guys doing out here?" Chandler asked trying to get out of the awkward situation between his wife and best friend.

"Just got back from…a date." Rachel said honestly. Well, she wasn't completely lying.

"That's right. My co-star. So how was it?" Joey asked as gently pushed by Rachel and went to unlock the door himself since he noticed she was seemingly having trouble. He pushed the door open and turned around to continue to talk to the group.

"Wait, she went out with your co-star?" Monica asked, "Why couldn't you have set me up?"

"Because you're married?" Chandler said.

"Oh right. Stupid vows." Monica said.

Chandler looked at Ross and the others and said, "I am the luckiest guy ever." He joked.

"I am just kidding. Slightly." Monica told him, kissing him on the lips then looks at Rachel, "I want details tomorrow Rach."

"Not much to tell. He got all weird after I let it slip I was pregnant." Rachel said looking up at Ross who had been quiet this entire time. "So Joey, thank you but never again." Rachel said walking into the apartment they shared. Rachel bent down and grabbed the candy bag that she had dropped and walked into the apartment. Setting it down on the counter.

"Well, Ross what are you doing here?" Monica asked turning her attention to her brother.

"Ran into Rachel at Central Perk. So I didn't want her to walk back alone." Ross answered honestly. Rachel had come back to the doorway and leaned against the frame, looking at Ross who was staring at his hands. "Guess ill go home. See you guys later." Ross said as he walked away from the group. Monica and Chandler waved and then walked in their apartment as Joey walked in to his.

"Here, ill walk you out Ross. Least I could do." Rachel said noticing nobody was in the hallway but that Joey was still ear shot. "And Joey, you can have those candy bars." Joey clapped at that and reached in and started to eat one of the candy bars. Ross smiled realizing what that meant as Rachel caught up with him.

Once Rachel and Ross got down to the bottom floor, the atmosphere around them got tense as it always seems to do with them. Something both of them have tried to ignore since they broke up, either time. It was Rachel who broke the silence between them. "Thank you again Ross." Rachel said hugging him. "And about what happened…" Rachel started.

"Old habit. All is good." Ross responded rubbing the back of his neck, looking down.

"Ross, its not just a habit." Rachel responded honestly.

"Rach, we can't go down this road. We are in a good place. I don't want to ruin that, ruin this friendship." Ross stated, breaking both of their hearts.

"Ross, that wasn't what I was going to suggest." Rachel lied. "We need to talk about it though." Ross just nodded. "I do want to say thank you again. You really know how to cheer a girl up. Even if that girl is carrying your child." Rachel joked, trying to lighten the mood. Both laughed lightly and then looked at each other.

"Well uh, see you tomorrow?" Ross said, not understanding why he made it sound like a question.

"Of course." Rachel stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. She stayed there longer than needed but she couldn't help it. She felt the pull that she felt upstairs. Ross cleared his throat, snapping her out of her daze. They hugged each other and then he proceeded to walk out of the apartment building, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts. She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled. She knew that this baby was a sign. A sign she wasn't going to ignore.

* * *

 _ **Alright so I know for some that this was re-written but I did not feel right with how I ended this chapter before. I want them to have a good talk and maybe wait a bit. Possibly wait until later in the pregnancy (Around the time Rachel moved in with Ross). Plus, I needed to fix some errors that were nagging at me. I am not all that great at this writing thing but I enjoy it.**_

 _ **I am working on chapter two right now. So I hope you guys continue to read this story.** _

**Side note: Things that won't happen in the story that happened on the show:**

 **-Joey will NOT develop a crush on Rachel.**

 **-Mona will not be a factor at all. In fact, if anything, she will more than likely be with Joey for a bit. **


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a couple weeks since the kiss that Ross and Rachel shared in the hallway. Both seemed distant from each other. They had a small conversation about the kiss in the hallway the day after it had happened. Both had agreed that although it was nice, that it should not happen again. They both felt the tension when they had that discussion but again, neither one would bring it up and discuss it with the other.

Rachel was sitting at her and her friend's regular area in Central Perk looking at apartment ads. She felt that as she was getting closer to her due date, she needed to find a place of her own. Sure, she was enjoying staying with Joey but she needed a place of her own.

Phoebe and Ross had come in some time after and sat down with her. Phoebe, next to her on the big orange couch and Ross adjacent from her in the chair reading the newspaper. Phoebe had received a call from her twin sister's ex fiancé and they had come to the conclusion they would meet for lunch.

"Oh this day is turning out so much better than I thought it was." Phoebe said as she had just informed Ross and Rachel that she was meeting Eric. She got up, collected her coat and headed out but not before saying, "Oh Ross, I am gonna have to cancel lunch." She smiled and basically skipped on her way out of the coffee shop. Rachel went back to her apartment hunting and laughed lightly as Ross sat there slightly hurt.

"So apparently I am available for lunch." Ross said making Rachel smile.

"I can't, I am busy. I am apartment hunting." Rachel informed Ross. Ross was taken back. He didn't even know she was considering moving.

"You're moving?" He asked her.

She nodded while saying, "Yeah. I can't live with Joey when the baby comes. I don't want my babies first words to be, 'how you doin'?" Rachel said using her best baby voice for the last phrase, making Ross laugh. Ross started to think. There was an apartment that he had heard that became vacant due to the owner passing away. It was a stretch but living in the same building would help. He could be closer to her and the baby.

"Does Joey know you're moving?" Ross asked curiously.

"Well, we haven't discussed it with him yet but I know he's going to be relieved." Rachel told him. "Last week, he brought this girl over and I started talking to her about my morning sickness and showed her pictures from my pregnancy book."

"Not exactly porn." Ross said with a small smile.

"Yeah, not so much" Rachel laughed.

Then the idea that he was thinking earlier came back into his mind, "Hey, you know what, since you're looking for apartments, I just heard in the elevator this morning that a woman in my building died." He told her, hoping she would jump at the idea.

"Oh my god. Was she old? Does it have a view?" Rachel asked, obviously interested in the apartment which made Ross happy.

"Well I don't know but how cool would it be. You living in my building. I can help take care of the baby…I could come over whenever I want." This got him an interesting look so he added, "…with your permission."

"That would really be great." Rachel said genuinely liking the idea of being in the same building as Ross. "Well can we see it?" She asked as she closed the ad she was looking at before. "Oh maybe we shouldn't. I mean if she just died this morning, out of respect."

"Yeah. You're right" Ross went back to reading his newspaper as both he and Rachel reached for the respective cups of liquid took a sip then looked at each other and said, "Shall we?"

"Yeah." And they both got up and headed out the door as quickly as they could towards Ross' apartment.

…

Ross and Rachel walked into his apartment bummed out. They had learned that the woman that was thought to be dead had held on and still kicking so the apartment wasn't available. Rachel plopped down on his leather couch. "Well damn. Guess I need to grab another ad and start searching again."

"Sorry Rach." Ross said sitting next to her and patting her knee. Rachel just shrugged.

"I knew it was too perfect to be true. Thank you though." Rachel said resting her hand on top of where his was on her knee. "Guess I will have to stay with Joey for a little while longer."

"Well actually…I was thinking; I know you are bummed about the other apartment. And I genuinely want to be there for you and the baby. So why don't you move in here with me?" Ross asked, scared of the answer. "Maybe as a temporary basis?"

"I don't want to disrupt your life like that Ross." Rachel said sitting up and looking at him.

"I understand and appreciate that. Trust me. But you won't be. I have an extra room and it would be so much easier if we were in the same building." Ross taking her hands in his.

"Ross its us." Rachel reminded him

"Nothing romantic. Just roommates who happen to have a child together." Ross said.

"As long as you're sure you want this."

"I do. I really do Rach." He let go of one of her hands to place his on her stomach to rub it. "I want to be a good father. I wasn't there much for when Carol was pregnant with Ben because she had Susan. I want to be there for you. For the food cravings, the late nights, everything." Ross admitted. Rachel smiled and leaned in and hugged him tightly.

"Alright." Rachel said answering his suggestion.

"Really?" Ross said getting happy.

"Really." Rachel said. "But I have to go tell Joey that I am moving." Rachel gets up and leans down and kisses Ross' cheek. "Thank you Ross." She smiled, grabbed her coat and left. Ross couldn't help but smile. He was going to be living with Rachel and his baby. Something he had once dreamed of doing long ago. He hasn't been this happy in such a long time.

….

It had been two months since Rachel had moved in. And as she predicted, Joey did not mind at all. In fact, because of all the weird talks Rachel was having with his guests, he actually helped move her out. He loved Rachel, but he loved sex more and he missed a lot of nights because of her talks with his guests. Rachel had a doctor's appointment to check up on her and the baby.

"So Ross, if by chance I am far enough along, would you want to know the sex of the baby?" Rachel asked as she was putting on her jacket and putting her purse strap on her shoulder, getting ready to leave.

Ross grabbed his keys and lead her out of the apartment, locking the door behind him. "No, I want to be surprised."

"Oh okay. So in that case have you thought of any baby names for it if it's a boy or a girl." Rachel asked, having her own list in her brain.

"I have some in mind." Ross said opening the door for her to exit the building. They both waved at an excited Phoebe as she stood next to her grandmother's car that she got after her grandmother died.

"Hey you guys. You ready?" Phoebe asked.

"Sure are." Ross said holding the back door open to allow Rachel to get in and followed behind, terrified of the front seat due to no seat belt. Phoebe got in the driver's seat, started the car and drove in the direction of Rachel's doctor's office.

"So what's up?" Phoebe asked.

"We were just talking about possible baby names. Ross doesn't want to know the sex of the baby so we want to run names for both just in case of course." Rachel explained.

"Oooo what are they?" Phoebe asked.

"Well we both have a list, mind if we run by them with each other?" Rachel asked.

"Sounds good to me." Ross said.

"I was thinking if it's girl, how 'bout Sandrine? It's French" Rachel asked.

"Hmm…That's a really pretty name…for an industrial solvent." Ross told her, internally laughing at that name.

Rachel, shocked turned in her seat and looked at him, "Okay, fine. What do you have?"

"Okay. It's for a boy. It's a little out there…Darwin." Ross said confidently.

"My God. Our child will be beaten to death in the school yard." Rachel looked at him with disbelief over that name.

"Yeah…by Sandrine." Phoebe joked, earning a glare from Rachel.

"You're just saying that because I said no to your name." Ross said

"I'm really, really not."

Phoebe couldn't help but smile at her lobsters. Sure they were bickering but it was adorable to her. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea as to why these two weren't together. "How about you each get five veto's" Phoebe suggested.

Ross thought about that and said, "That sounds fair."

"Okay, check this out. If it's a girl…Rain." Rachel said confident that he would go for it.

Immediately Ross responded with, "Veto"

"Why?"

Ross cocked one eyebrow and looked at her, "Rain? Hi, my name is Rain…I have my own kiln, and my dress is made out of wheat…" Rachel just rolled her eyes.

"I know her! I bought a homemade soap from her at a dead show." Phoebe said. Rachel just looked at her then back at Ross who looked to be giving her the 'I told you so' look.

"Okay. How about for a guy…Thatcher?" Ross asked.

"Ross, why do you hate our child?" Rachel is giving him a look.

"Fine you go." Ross huffed.

"Okay. James."

Pleasantly surprised by this, Ross thought about it, "Huh..."

"But only if it's a girl." That made his decision easier.

"Oh, veto. I like Ruth. What about Ruth?" Ross suggested.

"Oh I'm sorry. Are we having an eighty-nine-year-old." Ross' turn to roll his eyes. "How about Dayton?"

Ross squinted his eyes, "Veto. Stewart."

"Veto. Sawyer?"

"Veto. Helen?"

"Veto…" Rachel responded.

Phoebe, laughing lightly at this whole exchange, "Is it me, or is Veto starting to sound really good?" She joked earning a glare from both Ross and Rachel this time. She laughed as she stopped the cab. "We're here."

"Thanks Phoebes." Rachel said, trying to get out of the car.

"Hold on Rach, let me help you." Ross said as he got out of the cab and ran to her side. Phoebe watched this hold exchange and smiled. How he cared so much for the wellbeing for Rachel and his child made her heart melt. Maybe once they have this baby, they will realize how perfect they are for each other, Phoebe thought to yourself.

"You sure you don't want me to wait for you guys?" Phoebe asked. Ross shook his head as he helped Rachel towards the front of the Doctor's office.

"No. We can call a cab." Ross said. "It might be a while and we don't want you to wait long."

"Thank you Phoebe for the ride. Talk to you later." Rachel said over her shoulder.

"Bye you guys." Phoebe smiled and got back into her cab, driving back to her apartment.

…

Rachel and Ross was just told by Rachel's doctor that everything had looked fine and then she got called away, leaving behind the paperwork that could tell Rachel and Ross what they were having. Rachel had distracted Ross by making him look at the wall of pictures of pervious patient's babies when she slowly tried to take a look at the paperwork lying next to her.

"Wha…what are you doing?" Ross said as he turned around to catch her.

"I didn't see anything." Rachel said looking like a deer in headlights.

"I thought we wanted to wait." Ross said as he took the paperwork away and placed it far away from Rachel.

"I did. I do. Just a little bit curious is all." Rachel said looking guilty. "Sorry."

Ross shrugged and sat down next to her. "So uh, did you see…I mean, do you know?" He asked. Rachel just shook her head. Honestly, he caught her looking before she had the chance.

"Still a secret." Rachel told him.

"Good. Good." Ross said. The doctor had come back in and did some follow up work on Rachel then allowed them to leave. They got into a cab and headed back to Ross' apartment. Rachel set down her purse and plopped down on his couch and breathed out a sigh.

"God I am tired." Rachel admitted. Ross laughed and took a seat next to her. "Ross, can I ask you something?" Rachel said sitting up a little.

"Anything." Ross responded

"Did you ever think that we would be in this situation?" Rachel asked looking at him

"I mean, honestly, yeah. Well kinda. Some things are different from how I pictured this but yeah." Ross admitted.

"What do you mean 'some things are different'?" Rachel asked.

Ross looked at his hands and started, "By this point, I once thought that you and I would be married and this child wouldn't have been the result of a one-night stand. Not that I'm not happy that we are having this child but I do wish it was under better circumstances." Ross informed her.

"I mean technically we were married, but ya know how that went." Rachel joked trying to poke fun. Ross just stared at her and her smile faded. "Sorry"

Ross just shrugged and laid his head back on the back of the couch to look at the ceiling. He remembers telling Joey while they were helping Rachel move a couple months ago that when he pictured his next child being born that he would be married and happy. One question that Joey asked that still sticks out was if the woman he was married to was Rachel. And although at the time he told Joey that it used to be but that the woman now was faceless, being with Rachel, spending so much time together, living together, having this child together, that face that was once Rachel, then faceless, was beginning to look like Rachel again. And truth be told, he was terrified. He didn't want to go down that road again. If it didn't work out, there was now a child to think about.

Ross was so in his thoughts he didn't notice that Rachel had laid herself out on the couch and fell asleep with her legs on his lap. So he grabbed the near by blanket that was laying on his chair and placed it over her. He watched her sleep for a bit. Moments like this he missed terribly. He didn't watch anyone else sleep after Rachel. Not Emily, not Elizabeth. There was just somethings he did with Rachel that he just did not want to do with the others because those moments were special to him. Ross gently moves her legs off his lap and walked towards the kitchen, stealing one last glance at the woman who still very much had his heart.

* * *

 ** _Alright, don't get mad at me. Lol but this was incredibly hard to write because as I continued to write, most things i had written didn't make sense to me. And if it doesn't make sense to me, it won't to anyone else. Hahaa. So here is chapter two. So *SPOILER* I know when I want this whole Ross/Rachel relationship to start. So next chapter will be the start of that. I won't go through a lot of the pregnancy stuff because well I have NO clue on how to write that so there will be time jumps (similar to the couple months jump that this chapter had)._**

 ** _I will be starting a new story pretty soon because I have had this idea in my head for at least a month and its killing me because I just watched the episode I had the idea for and it keeps banging me in my head to write it._**

 ** _Please read and review. :D_**


End file.
